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A New Paradigm for Assessing the Potential of a Digital Resource: The Paid Trial

Lee A. Pedersen, Brown UniversitySasha Gurke, Knovel Corporation

ASEE 2007

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Knovel Library

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Interactive Tables and Graphs

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Brown University Stats: 2005-06

Entire University Undergraduates –

6146 Graduates & Medical

students – 2094 Faculty – 684

Chemistry & Engineering Undergraduates

(declared) –178 Graduates – 153 Faculty – 56

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Library Budget & Acquisitions:2005-06

Total collections budget $7.8 M

Books only $2.1 M Chemistry & eng.

acquisitionsBooks $28,500Serials ~$800,000

Total book titles added >40,000

STM titles added >3200

Knovel titles 746 (>20% increase in STM new titles)

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Brown – Knovel Chronology: 2005

Jan – K-Essentials May – training workshop for chemistry and

engineering constituents Jun – one-month free trial Aug – allocated $2000 from book money for

semester trial Sep – Beginning of semester paid trial Nov – E-resources vendor fair and training

workshop Dec – End of trial; commitment to year’s

subscription

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User Sessions: 2005

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Secure Title Visits: 2005 Trials

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User Sessions: Fall 2005 vs. 2006

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Usage Stats: Fall 2005 vs. 2006

Sessions* All Content

% GrowthTitle Visits*

Secure Content% Growth

Session Length*(min.)

2005 140 105 5

2006 228 63 149 42 3

* Monthly average

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Growth of Knovel Content

Year Month All

Titles Interactive

Titles

2005 Sep 746 54

2006 Jan 826 57

2006 Dec 1025 72

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Lessons Learned

One month - inadequate timeframe to capture chemistry and engineering interest

One semester - too long to provide free access by the vendor

Compromise of paying for a trial - gamble that paid off in internal support to fund the subscription

Cost of paid trial – reasonable Effort to promote - continuous

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Benefits of the Collaboration

Reliable data for a big investment Incentive to budget for promotion on campus $2000 invested to have time to

Promote among end-users Round up a budget Collect and analyze usage data

Immediate access for constituents

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The Story Goes On

Now in the serials budget Included in a class assignment Use has gone thru the roof